Jo+Brad+Laurel+Sam+Frank // A Raleigh Family Session

Ya’ll know these guys so they don’t really need any introduction, but we will say that meet a lot of people on this job, but Jo, Brad, Laurel, and Sam are some of our favorites. They’ve kept in touch with us and invite us to their lake house and cook us dinner and let us play with their french bulldog and send us text messages when Carrie Fisher dies. We love them, and they are near and dear to our hearts. We photographed them last year with Frank, their newly adopted French Bulldog who has become, perhaps, the most babied and spoiled of the family and is possibly the favorite child (I know Laurel and Sam won’t be offended by this statement but will likely agree with me, so I feel like it’s fine to put that out there). They LOVE him, and how could you not, given that face!? And lucky for Frank, he was adopted into a family who took their adoption of him seriously, and so they are doing everything they can to get Frank back on a path to health and wellness after some pretty devastating news. Frank was diagnosed with Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis. Essentially, it’s an autoimmune disease brought on by a bad reaction to a vaccination. He’s had seizures and pneumonia, as well as other significant reactions to the disease and the drugs used to treat it. Currently, he is doing quite well on chemo and is a very strong, brave little pup. He is on the upswing and his family is taking great care of him in conjuncture with the NC State Veterinary Hospital Neurology Team.

So this year – we did their family pictures at the arboretum, but Frank was recovering at this current juncture from a recent hospital stay, so he was only able to join us for half of the pictures. He has since made significant strides and we are so happy for him! He is still sporting his veterinary hospital haircut in these pictures but also sporting a cool French t-shirt to represent his heritage. We’re so glad that Frank has this wonderful family in his life, and WE’RE so happy to have this wonderful family in OUR lives. Sam and Laurel remain two of our most favorite children, and they just keep getting funnier and more amazing as they get older. Probably because they have some pretty great parents whom we adore. Happy to photograph this family once again!

Jessica+Andrew // Ocean Isle Destination Wedding

Jessica and Andrew hail all the way up from Minnesota! And, like all Minnesota people I’ve encountered in my lifetime, they are exceedingly nice and can also tolerate much colder temperatures than me. These guys are avid travelers, and they wanted to share the joy of traveling with their family and friends, so they decided to hold their wedding in Ocean Isle, NC and have everyone join them. They rented an enormous and gorgeously updated beach house, and had a ceremony out by the ocean. It was a sunny and clear day while Jess and Andrew strolled along the beach in the sunset with me and videographer Matt from Dogwood Media shouting “Dope dope dope” at them… which is, I’m pretty sure, exactly what they pictured their wedding day being like. We had a ridiculous amount of fun with these guys. And look at how pretty they are. Just look at them. SO PRETTY. Jessica’s dress was gorgeous and I had a fun time making her spin around repeatedly and then trying to shake the sand out of the tulle. They then danced the night away with a super fun group of people who love to pretend they’re all jumping rope at the reception. We are so glad that they asked us to join them out in Ocean Isle – we had never been to that part of the NC coast before (we’re originally from Pittsburgh so still have much of this state to explore) and we loved it! It was clear of people and the light is beautiful out there in November, and the beach is pristine in every direction. We’re so happy and grateful these guys chose North Carolina and chose US to be with them for their wedding day. Congratulations to you both! You beautiful people you.

Date: November 3, 2018
Ceremony + Reception Venue: Southern Comfort Beach House // Ocean Isle Beach, NC
First Dance Song: “Eyes on You” – Chase Rice
Andrew’s Occupation: Union Scaffold Builder
Jessica’s Occupation: Call Center Rep
How You Met: Mutual friends
Interesting Fact: Our parents knew each other when we were kids and we actually use to jump on the trampoline together, Jessie has no recollection of this.
Honeymoon: Cabo San Lucas
Officiant: Pastor Alan
DJ: Coastal DJ
Cake: One Belle Bakery
Caterer: A Thyme Savor Catering
Hair/Makeup: Silver Ceiling Beauty
Videographer: Dogwood Media
Coordinator: Shady Brown Events

Erika+Emmanuel+Felix // Raleigh Family Session

Team Emmerika has been gracing our blog for quite a while and we are ever thankful for them being clients but also our friends. And now, in addition to their fur family, they have added a little boy named Felix, who we couldn’t be more excited for. He doesn’t quite know it yet, but he has the BEST parents. And by the best parents, I mean THE BEST. Geoff was out of town for work one weekend and they came over to our house with bags of food and made me dinner, dessert, and left me snacks (they’re aware of the fact that I’m helpless at cooking and came to rescue me). They are so sweet and thoughtful but also make the best food imaginable and I’m convinced they could take over the Raleigh culinary circuit if they tried. Erika, in addition, regularly makes the best cupcakes for every conceivable occasion and to this day makes the best gluten free cupcakes I’ve ever tasted.

Generous doesn’t really even begin to describe them, but it’s a start. They’re also loyal and caring and constantly positive, and both of them have the most adorable smiles of all time. We love them. They are so cute. So Felix, you don’t know this yet, but you lucked out big time. Your parents are going to kick ass. They are going to teach you all about comic books and good movies and pop culture and you’re going to eat the best food and they’re going to be so fun and we are SO EXCITED FOR YOU. Also, you have a great extended family and friend group (Grandma Helen and Aunt Kacie pictured here!) and an adorable group of furry siblings. You’re going to have the best life, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for you, but we are 100% sure it’s all good.